


To Jest

by Toonpel



Series: The World Keeps Spinning [1]
Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Friendship, Games, Gen, Lesser Dad is Greater Dad, Mental Health Issues, Post-Pacifist Ending, Prequel, Promises, Repost of a Previously Deleted Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 12:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20601128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toonpel/pseuds/Toonpel
Summary: While on his way to visit his imprisoned father, Lancer stumbles upon a solitary confinement holding a strange jester...needless to say, games and chaos ensues.





	1. A New Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, and welcome to this little story called **To Jest**!
> 
> Alright, so I know some of you might have read this story before and are probably very confused right now, but, well...I won't bore you with the reason here, so moving on.
> 
> For now, all I'm going to say is that it's back, and you don't have to worry about me deleting this story again, because I am _finally_ over whatever my problem was. This fanfiction is here to stay...permanently.
> 
> In any case; whether you're new here or have read this story before, I welcome you!
> 
> Enjoy!

It was a relatively peaceful day at Card Castle. A few Rudinn guards had apprehended a Darkner trying to smuggle some of the former Kings’ riches (which, for some reason, was still littering the floor where everyone could find it), but aside from that, life had found its way back to a normal routine in the Dark World.

Lancer, the newly appointed King of this large and royal architecture, was sitting in the damaged and way too big throne that now belonged to him, his small legs swinging back and forward as he thought about a few things. Susie and the blue Lightner he still didn’t know the name of had only been gone for a few days, having left this world to return to their own light one, and it...felt kind of empty already, in this black and white castle that was now Lancer’s.

He pouted in his seat. The small Spade King couldn’t already be missing them, could he?

But he did, and it made him feel restless. It turned out that being in charge of everything was harder than he had first thought it would be, but Lancer was confident he would be a great ruler. A far better one than his father, that was for sure.

At least the other Darkners loved the new rules he had so cleverly come up with. The increase in salsa was great and all, but apparently it didn’t grow on trees, and so Lancer was once again reminded that with power came responsibility.

He didn’t like it though, not one bit. Lancer had turned to his Lesser Dad (who, in fact, was becoming more and more of a Greater Dad) for help and advice, and while the tall blue man had grumbled and complained, he still ended up helping Lancer with all the complicated stuff that came with being a king.

His Lesser Dad was great, really. Not only did he feed him his many worms when Lancer was hungry, he also helped him and played with him whenever he was bored.

That was why Lancer had decided to appoint Rouxls Kaard as the new Royal Adviser, and needless to say, his Lesser Dad had been ecstatic. Adults were funny like that, taking so much pride in a simple title. Lancer himself liked being the dad now, but he didn’t exactly make it any bigger than it was.

But aside from all the boring proceedings he now had to do, Lancer found himself quite frankly bored out of his mind. In fact, he had been so bored he had set his bike on fire...literally, and not in the usual way he did to fuel the small thing to drive beyond what it would otherwise be capable of.

It was okay though, because his Lesser Dad had gotten him a new one immediately, shoving the thing in his face with a rude comment and then hurriedly teleporting away in his brand display of magic.

Still, the boredom was gnawing at him. Lancer briefly contemplated on visiting that sweet as pie prince, but shook his head at the thought. The delicious little apple was probably busy with his own kingdom, Lancer reasoned. He was a prince himself, after all.

So that quite literally left Lancer grasping at straws. His various minions were never truly his friends, having been ordered by his father to obey his every word and wish back in the day, and even though most of them had actually started liking Lancer for who he was now, he still didn’t feel close to any of them.

So what then? Who was left? (Susie and the Lightner, but they were gone.)

Perhaps Lancer could visit his father in the Prison Dungeon? It made the small spade kid queasy, his stomach churning at the thought of facing his towering dad, but…

He was still his father in the end, and Lancer (for a reason he wasn’t all that comfortable with) still sought the man’s approval and affection. Even if one of the last things the former king had done was call him a traitor and threatened to throw him off the edge of the castle’s roof.

Yeah...it was going to be alright.

And so with that out of the way and his mind made up, Lancer jumped down from the large throne and sprinted towards his brand new bike – lovingly named Lancer’s Bike of Fueled Victory II.

“Ho ho ho!” He laughed quite like this Santa Claus Susie had once mentioned, said laugh always bringing back better days. “My journey now takes the Great Lancer to the Prison, formerly known as the Basement, Which Just Happened to Have A Lot Of Cages!”

The ride itself was a disaster, as Lancer got lost more than once, and he eventually had to resort to put up signs asking for help and telling of his various troubles. Thankfully, one of the guards saw it and directed him to the desired Elevator (and by direction, Lancer meant he was guided all the way there by said guard).

“Alright, now no more foolery!” He shouted as he entered the elevator, driving his bike all the way to the various buttons. “I do love getting lost...just kidding!” He laughed, wishing beyond anything Susie was there with him at the moment. Everything he seemed to do or say reminded him of his first real friends.

Just as Lancer was about to press the usual button to the Prison Floor, his small hand stalled in the air as a button that hadn’t been there before now ominously flashed several question marks.

“What's that doing there?” Lancer questioned, tilting his head in confusion. “And what does it mean?” He paused, a small smile spreading across his face. “More importantly, where does it lead!? Lesser Dad never told me there was a secret floor!”

With his usual evil laugh (the improved version, mind you), Lancer hit the button with eagerness and jumped off his bike as the elevator started up and began its descend to this unknown place.

It took longer than usual, going even further down than the prison floor, which made Lancer briefly question if what he was doing was actually smart. He then brushed his worries off, the excitement overriding the logical fear. Lancer certainly wasn’t bored anymore, that was for sure.

Eventually, the elevator came to a stop and the doors sprung open, shaking the whole compartment as it did so. Lancer got on his bike again and hurried out, but soon decided to leave his trusted vehicle behind as many stairs greeted his sight.

The whole place was eerily quiet, so much, in fact, that the nefarious Darkner kid could hear his own footsteps echo around the dark dungeon. Everywhere he looked, black greeted him, except for the occasional torches alight with glowing blue flames that almost seemed to float in the vast darkness all around. The ground itself was a dark blue, and the stairs felt uninviting and downright threatening.

Lancer gulped. Maybe this really hadn’t been such a good idea, like the logical part of his mind had tried to tell him earlier. The newly appointed Spade King wasn’t one for logical thinking, though. He rather liked being fun and spontaneous instead.

Even as he felt intimidated, Lancer stuck out his blue tongue and smiled, rushing down the staircase and further down the dark place. He was beyond curious to see what this secret place held, for it must hold the biggest of them all; after all, Lancer hadn’t ever heard of this dungeon before.

The end to this journey was reached sooner than he expected, and Lancer now stood before rows upon rows of bars to a cage shrouded in nothing but darkness. The young Darkner took a few tentative steps forward, reaching out to touch one of the steel bars.

They felt cold to the touch. Lancer’s blue hoodie narrowed with his spaded face.

“What is this?” He questioned, wondering why a huge prison like this hid where no one would be able to find it. “Did my dad forget to tell everyone we had this extra cage?”

A sudden shuffle of noise was heard, and Lancer startled back with a yelp.

“Wh-who’s there? As your awesome new King, I now have the charms to make you tell me!” He demanded, a small smile slipping past his wariness.

The shuffling behind the bars continued for a few seconds, and then abruptly stopped. Lancer held his breath, but immediately released it when laughter filled the air.

A voice then spoke.

“Uee hee hee! Can it be, be? Another visitor for little old me?” This apparent person behind the bars giggled, their voice loud and excited. Lancer felt like he’d heard it before, but he just couldn’t place a finger on how or even when.

“And so soon, too! Oh, the world keeps bringing me such fun, fun!” They continued. The way this prisoner spoke sounded a little weird to Lancer, but he had heard stranger things before.

“Wh-who are you?” He asked hesitantly, glancing behind him to the long stairs leading up to where he had come from. No one was there. It was only Lancer and this stranger, it seemed.

He was still very much confused, but also kind of curious. Who was this being locked away so far from their society? And what were they doing here? Why had they been locked up?

“Ah!” The other one said, sounding surprised. This in turn made Lancer take yet another step back.

“Your voice, your voice! I daresay I have heard it before, yes, yes, I must have!” They rambled. “You said the new King? Could it be, be? Has the world been set free? From the tyranny of our previous malevolent kings?”

Lancer didn’t know what to say, but he tried. This person sounded nuts, but he seemed to know of him, his father and...the other three kings?

“I...I’m the new King, Lancer. I overthrew my father a couple of days ago, so yes! Father is no longer in control.” He began, taking a few steps forward and trying furtively to look beyond the black void to catch a glimpse of the one he was speaking to.

“But who are you, faceless voice I seem to have heard before!?”

There was a brief silence.

“...You.” They said, voice sounding strangely serious all of a sudden. A drop of sweat rolled down Lancer’s face.

“You remember. The small Prince – ah, no, the King now, yes – remembers my voice.” They giggled. “Hee hee hee! Today is a bringer of wonderful news, news!” Their jovial tone was back full force.

“So you do know of the Dark Jack Lancer!” He stated. “But who are you? You still haven’t told me!”

“Ha Ha! Jack, Jack??? I don’t know _Jack_ about that!” They laughed. “But I do know a Lancer. I know of you, you, little one.”

Lancer was just about to complain that, once again, this stranger still hadn’t introduced himself, but said stranger beat him to it.

“My name, name, is Jevil!” The now named Jevil shouted, and out of nowhere a small pair of gloved hands shot forward and clutched the bars right before Lancer, two glowing yellow dots gazing at him from beyond. “I was but the merry little Court Jester, once, once upon a time!”

Lancer’s eyes widened, shock coursing through his body as it absorbed those words. A flicker of a memory flashed before his eyes – _of a being standing before him, smiling, laughing, making _Lancer_ laugh_ – but then it was gone just as soon as it had appeared.

“The Court Jester?” He questioned. “We had one of those?”

The yellow dots narrowed in mirth. “Oh yes, Lancer, and this Jester can do _anything_.”

“A-anything?” Lancer didn’t know where this conversation was going anymore. He briefly played with the thought of just turning to leave, taking his trusted bike with him and never looking back.

Instead, Lancer decided to stay.

“But then, why are you here? Why have you been locked up? My new rule states that only dads get locked up!”

“What a great rule, rule! So much fun, fun!” He said. “But you’re wrong about one thing, little spade king! I’m not locked up, you are!”

“I am?” Lancer questioned, but then shook his head. “I mean, no I’m not!” He trudged further up to the cage, now mere inches from the creature behind it. “B-but anyway, tell me why you’re here!”

The yellow dots briefly vanished before reappearing, as if the jester had blinked. He then started floating upwards, the mittened hands leaving the bars and – to Lancer’s surprise, turned upside-down.

“My games, games, were simply too much for the Kings to handle, so they locked themselves away, away, and I found my freedom...here to stay!”

“Games?” Lancer repeated. People didn’t get thrown in jail for playing games, did they? Lancer was still very much free, after all. “What kind of games…?”

“Just a simple Numbers Game. Nothing too big, but certainly so very fun, fun!”

“Oh...” Lancer said hesitantly. “Can I...can I play too?”

The voice quieted down again. “You want to play with me, me? Uee hee hee, of course! I’m always up for fun, fun!”

Lancer couldn’t help the smile that blossomed forth. He had been so bored lately, but if this stranger would play these co-called fun games, would it all change for the better? Would he gain a new friend, aside from the Heroes of Light? The spade child really hoped so.

“But!” The person imprisoned suddenly said, bringing Lancer back to the present. “I won’t be playing my Numbers Game with you, you, my little Spade King.”

“What?” Lancer grumbled. He had just promised him they would play together, so why the sudden change?

“Why not?!”

“Those games are only for sharks, sharks, my dear boy!” Jevil said, voice jovial and yet somehow also serious at the same time. Lancer frowned.

“Hey, I’m a shark too! I’m a class A bad guy!”

“Uee hee hee, bad guy!” the jester laughed. “No, no, my little marshmallow, you’re...too kind!”

While a surge of annoyance coursed through him, Lancer also felt a bit warmer by the compliment.

“Oh no.” He said, frustrated. “Your compliment makes me feel all round and fuzzy inside...” Darn people and their genuine compliments. Lancer had a hard time staying tough in situations like these. He stuck out his tongue, lulling back and forth on his heels as he continued to stare into the black cage.

“Hee hee, there’s only room for the best when it comes to you, my king, king!”

“So, what games are we gonna play instead?” Lancer asked, feeling a tiny bit impatient. He still had to visit his father after this.

“Hmm...” The being thought. “How about..._Shiritori_?”

“Shiri- what?” Lancer tilted his head, having never heard that word before. “Do you speak English, mysterious prisoner???”

“Shiritori, shiritori!” The other repeated, as if that explained everything. “It’s the name of a famous word game!”

“...Oh.” Lancer felt slightly disappointed. He had thought they were going to do something exciting, like juggling with chainsaws or setting something on fire...or even racing through the castle grounds with blindfolds on.

The stranger only giggled at his apparent dismay. “Have patience, patience, Lancer. We’ll play more exciting games later. For now, why don’t we start out simple, simple?”

“I guess...” He nodded. “Okay, let’s roll!”

“Great, great! The rules are easy. One of us starts with a word, word, and then the other has to come up with another starting with the ending letter!” The Spade King heard sudden clapping, like the jester was too excited to contain it. “For example, if I say Jevil, you might say...Lancer, ha ha!”

“Oh...okay!” Lancer supposed that sounded easy enough, but the word game still didn’t appeal to him. Another weak, yet persistent feeling of dejavu made him feel certain he had met this stranger before. “Hey...our names are compatible? That’s pretty cool!”

“Oh yes, our names, names, of you and the jester who’s been unfairly blamed!” Jevil stated, and Lancer was once again made aware of how something felt slightly off about this person. But as a jester, wasn’t he supposed to be weird? Lancer thought that made sense.

“But enough about that, that! It’s time for our game to being!”

“Okay...then I’ll start!” Lancer announced. “I pick...uh, the word Bike!” Lancer loved bikes, especially his own modified one. It was the perfect word to start with, in his opinion.

Jevil giggled. “Energy!”

“Uh...Yowling?”

“Greenery!”

“...Yelp.”

“Prey!”

Lancer threw his hands in the air. “Have I been bested already!? Why do you only pick words ending with _y_?”

“_Why_ indeed!” The jester laughed. Lancer stomped on the ground, but found himself smiling as well.

“Yet!” He eventually said, continuing the game.

“Tray!”

“Aaaah!”

They played a couple more rounds after Jevil won the first one (Lancer had eventually run out of words starting with that blasted _y_), and as they proceeded, the jester eventually seemed to go easier on him, and the spade kid could even proudly declare that he won on the fourth try.

“Okay, enough, enough!” Jevil declared after the seventh try. “Time has run out, sweet and soft boy. You have to run along, along, as duty calls!”

Lancer startled, standing abruptly from the sitting position he had taken at some point throughout their games. How long had he been here?

“Shoot, am I late for dinner? Or even my dad’s visit? Or Lesser Dad???”

He sprinted up the dark stairs, briefly hearing Jevil’s laugh along the way.

“Come play again soon, soon!” He yelled after the retreating king.

As Lancer retrieved his bike and entered the elevator, he thought that he would indeed visit this mysterious Jester called Jevil again.

* * *

“...No.” Jevil stated, leaving no room for argument.

The Spade King had once again ventured into the deepest and darkest parts of his Castle, the place he now dubbed as Jevil’s Prison of Dark Secrets I.

“I won’t leave my freedom. I won’t go back to your caged world, world. Down here is much more fun!” He continued, and then paused briefly “...even if it does get lonely, uee hee hee!”

The previous day had both been a blessing and a disaster. After he had left Jevil, Lancer had rushed to the correct part of Card Castle’s Prisons and visited his dad...and needless to say, the small spade child had left feeling worse than when he entered. His father refused to see any reason, resorting to veiled threats and subtle manipulation. If it wasn’t for Lancer having grown up around the man (even if he almost never spent any time with him), the newly self-appointed Spade King would have missed those signs, but…

Lancer knew better now.

After that, the late dinner with Lesser Dad brought back his usual routine, even if Rouxls had been slightly miffed with Lancer’s lateness. He had asked where he had been and what he had been doing, and strangely enough, Lancer didn’t feel like telling him of his meeting with Jevil just yet. Something told the nefarious Darkner kid that doing so would...lessen the mood of his Lesser Dad.

As he prepared for bed late that evening (Lancer was a big kid now, he could stay up late), a thought had crossed his mind;

Since he was the king now, and Jevil told him the previous kings had locked the jester up for his games, didn’t that mean Lancer had the power and authority to release him? Lancer couldn’t actually believe Jevil thought the cage he was locked up in was a place of freedom.

And yet apparently he did, as Lancer just realized. But above all, beyond what the jester had just told him, Lancer clung to something he, too, was intimately familiar with;

Loneliness.

Jevil was lonely too? Lancer guessed it made sense, since no one else seemed to be around. If he remembered correctly, though, didn’t he say he could do ‘_anything_’ before?

If Lancer couldn’t convince Jevil to leave his prison, then maybe...just maybe he could start with _this_.

“Well, okay.” He eventually replied. “Then, Jevil!” He shouted, having come to a conclusion. “You said you can do anything, right!?”

“Oh yes, yes!” He cheered, giggling once more.

“Well then, as your handsome king, I, LANCER, questions your ability to make me your friend!”

There, he said it. Now all he could do was wait and see if Jevil would accept. Not many had, but Lancer felt hope bubble forth from within his small body.

The yellow dots that indicated Jevil’s eyes stilled in the air, and then slowly turned upright and began to descend. Once he seemed to be back on the ground, his purple gloved hand shot out once more. Lancer flinched slightly, ducking his head and closing his invisible eyes, preparing for the _strike_…

But instead, all he felt was a few pats on his head, and Lancer blinked his eyes back open.

“Hee hee hee!” The jester laughed while vigorously patting his head. “Little Lancer wants to be my friend, friend? I am beyond elated!” He then retracted his small hand, letting it disappear once more as it got swallowed by the black nothingness beyond.

“R-really?” Lancer stuttered, a huge smile spreading across his face as his stomach fluttered with nice and cozy feelings. “I-I mean, of course you would be! The great LANCER only has the best friends, ho ho ho!” He laughed, remembering that this was his least intimidating laugh.

“Oh, such fun, fun! I never thought I would see the day come when I befriended the King, King, but this day has now arrived with a swing!” Jevil laughed.

“Ho ho ho!” Lancer laughed along. “You talk funny!”

“Indeed I do, sweet boy.” He said, sounding completely normal for once. Lancer snickered. He really liked Jevil, he was very fun to hang out with.

“So, new friend of mine, what are we gonna play today?”

“Hm, today, today? Why today we play with spades!”

“Spades?” Lancer asked, and then smirked. “Not to call myself a spade, but I’m a spade! I rock at them!”

Jevil clapped from within the darkness. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, my delicious little spade!”

“So, this game that I’ll definitely win, what’s it about?”

“Once again, it’s simple, simple! I throw my spades at you, and if you evade them all, you win, win! If you get hit, you lose!”

“Huh, that really is simple...okay, you’re on!” Lancer declared, preparing himself for whatever Jevil might throw at him. He was fairly confident in his own abilities, so Lancer wouldn’t sweat it.

That was, until the game actually started. Lancer hadn’t known what was coming, and he most certainly wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of spade bullets sent his way. He yelped as he dodged back and forward, as if dancing in front of a crowd, doing spins and pirouettes. Lancer’s breath came out ragged, and sweat trickled down his body. The small spade kid thought this was a bit overkill.

As more spades materialized from every visible corner, Lancer jumped and ducked, ran left and right and rolled out of the way, having never actually used his body this much before. It was quite the workout, and the Spade King honestly couldn’t believe someone was _that_ good at handling spade magic.

“Ah!” He yelped as one of the countless spades graced him, nicking off quite a lot of his HP.

“Aaaaa, so fun, fun!” The Jester yelled, sounding way too excited for Lancer’s liking. “You lose, lose, uee hee hee!”

Somehow, the blow to his ego hurt more than the HP he had lost. Lancer pouted and stuck out his tongue.

“H-how do you...” He breathed, plumping down on the ground in exhaustion. “How do you even call this a game? Are you sure you’re not evil!?”

“Hi hi hi,” Jevil giggled, still sounding very much like he hadn’t had such fun in quite a while. “Evil? I’m only preparing you for what’s to come, come, my little King. These games, games, are fun, but not completely random.”

“Preparing me?” Lancer questioned, his curiosity piqued. “What do you mean by that? Was this actually training in disguise!?”

“Right you are, clever Lancer!” Jevil agreed, sounding pleased with his deduction skills. Lancer beamed. “You never know when you might need to be fast on those sweet, sweet little legs of yours, King. Not everyone in your prison agrees, agrees, after all.”

Jevil had kind of lost Lancer, but the spade child thought he got the gist of it. No one would rebel against him, would they? Lancer thought he was a fairly good king, all things considered.

“Ho ho ho!” He laughed. “You clever Pumpkin, Jevil! Can we have another round?”

“Why of course, of course! Do your worst, Lancer!”

And so yet another day was spent playing with Jevil, Lancer slowly but surely getting better and better at dodging the spades Jevil kept materializing (seriously, did his friend ever get tired?). Still, Lancer would admit he hadn’t actually won a single time yet, much to his frustration. This, in turn, only fueled his will to best this amazingly strong jester, because each time he did better, Jevil would praise Lancer, and…

He liked that. He liked that very much. It made his feelings to wheelies, as he liked to say.

Eventually, the game that was also secretly practice ended, Lancer feeling more exhausted than ever before. He swallowed several deep gulps of air as he regained his breath, once again sitting on the cold ground and leaning on the bars to Jevil’s cage.

“How-” He huffed. “How do you like that, Punkaroo!? Was the Dark Jack Lancer enough for you?”

“You did great, great! Simply marvelous, Greatest Spade King!” Jevil praised, and Lancer proceeded to absorb it all into his ego-festered body.

“Never have I had such fun, fun! If you keep it up, you might even be able to do anything, anything!” He giggled. “Like me!”

“You really can do anything?”

“Yes, anything!”

Well that settled that…

Lancer immediately sat upright, having just had a bright idea that made his whole body shiver with excitement.

“So then, if you really _can_ do anything, can you...make me an ice cream!?”

“Yes, yes!” Jevil giggled, and then quite literally proceeded to manifest a huge soft-served ice cream. It floated in the air, just above Lancer’s head, and then flew into his waiting hands.

“Wow, this is amazing!!!” He cried with delight, not actually having believed that would work. “You’re so cool, Jevil! The second coolest friend I have!”

Said jester chuckled, sounding very pleased. He then spoke.

“Not that I mind, mind, but second?” His friend asked, sounding more curious than anything else. Lancer smiled.

“Yeah! You see, my first best friend is Susie, the awesome, purple, scary strong-girl! I’m gonna be as scary and strong as her one day!” Lancer gushed while devouring his ice cream. He missed her and...that quiet, poker-faced blue Lightner as well. He quickly decided to visit his Sweet Little Peas later.

“Oh, the Lightners!” Jevil said, surprising Lancer. He knew of them? Susie and the others hadn’t ever mentioned meeting Jevil before, which was odd. Did they not share everything?

Lancer shook his head. “You know them? How?”

“Yes, yes, I had so much fun playing with them! They were quite strong, I must say, to be able to best me in my play! Uee hee hee!”

“You played with them as well?” Lancer pouted. “Why didn’t you invite me? Where’s my invitation? Did I misplace it???”

Jevil’s yellow eyes went over to where Lancer was sitting, placing a hand on his hoodie and ruffling it.

“You wouldn’t have liked that one, one, Lancer.” He said. “It was one of my great Numbers Games, and they kept coming back, and back, and back, even after dying so many times!” He seemed to breathe overly loud after that last bit, but then quieted down, almost whispering.

“...But I don’t want to hurt you, you, my King.”

Lancer was beyond confused. He had known from the moment he met Jevil that the jester wasn’t all..._there_, to put it mildly, but now he was just spewing nonsense. Susie and the rest of his team (still fondly named the _Lancer Fan Club_) was very much alive and kicking, at least as far as he was aware. He had definitely _seen_ Susie and the Blue Lightner leave for their own world, so they couldn’t be dead, right?

So that’s what he told him.

“My friends aren’t dead! They’re probably out there missing me so much they can’t help but stop at every sign along their path, hoping it’ll be one signed my me, Lancer!” He stated proudly, believing every single word he said. There was no way they weren’t constantly thinking about their awesome friendship with him.

The greater spade king continued. “Also, Did you eat a funny mushroom or something?” Lancer questioned. It would make his friend’s strange behavior a bit more understandable. “Don’t worry if you did, the effects will wear off..._eventually_.” Not that he was speaking from experience, no sir.

Jevil neither confirmed nor denied this question. “Never mind, hee hee hee. They’ll come back to play again, and I’ll be here to greet them then!”

Beyond the growing mountain of confusion, Lancer felt a slight surge of excitement course through him. Did Jevil know something he didn’t? Was Susie and the Blue One really coming back?

Having long since finished the soft-served deliciousness, Lancer jumped to his feet, the hand that had been patting his head disappearing back into the darkness.

“They’ll come back? You mean that?” Lancer questioned, a huge smile resting on his face.

“Eventually.” Jevil stated simply.

“...You just can’t stop clowning around, can you?” Lancer said. “I bet you’re actually a huge clown hidden in that darkness, aren’t you? What are you hiding, clownish fiend!?”

Jevil laughed. “I plead innocence, innocence! I am hiding nothing from you, _but_!” He paused dramatically, his mittened hands spread out between the bars. “You are quite on the mark about this clownish business...even if I prefer the term _Jester_.”

“Right!” Lancer nodded. “You’re a clown _and_ a jester then!” He concluded, snickering.

He then paused. “...were you really our Court Jester once?”

“Oh yes, I was, I was! And I was a splendid one, too! I made all the royal royalties laugh, laugh like no other. It was all so much fun, until-” Jevil cut himself off abruptly, and Lancer would have quirked an eyebrow if he had one – who needed those anyway?

He could always just pull off that Handsome Lancer face everyone obviously adored.

“Until what!? My sweet and friendly clown, don’t leave me in the dark, that’s you! Hahaha!”

Jevil had once again retracted his arms, the glowing dots that were a constant in the dark cage beyond now completely gone, as if they had been snuffed out.

“...Until I played my games, games. The End.”

Lancer huffed. “That’s it? Boring! There’s nothing suspending about that at all!”

The Jester laughed. “Not everything in this game is, young king.”

“I really don’t get you, Jevil, you’re pretty weird!” Lancer said.

“Boo hoo hoo, lo behold the chaos, chaos, and you’ll understand everything is but a game, GAME!”

Lancer started feeling a bit uncomfortable, as his friend switched back to sounding slightly more insane than usual. The spade child was all for being weird and quirky and staying true to yourself – as his sweet as sugar friends had taught him – but enough was enough.

“I’m leaving now, okay?” Lancer stated as he began his trek up the many stairs.

Jevil shouted after him.

“Uee hee hee, lonely, lonely once again! Come again, again!”

Lancer would, but...he needed a super special and awesome break after this visit.

* * *

It was that very same evening, while Lancer ate his yummy serving of worms his Lesser Dad had prepared for him, that he decided to tell Rouxls Kaard of his meeting with Jevil. The over-the-top tall and lanky blue dude was currently in the middle of practicing a new calligraphy style, hunched over the paper as he focused on the detailed work. Lancer knew calligraphy was one of his Lesser Dad’s hobbies, but he himself had never had the patience to try it out.

“Lesser Dad?” Lancer said after swallowing a mouthful of his dinner. It was quite _wormy_, just as he liked it.

“Hmst?” The man in question hummed, not looking up from the paper and yet still acknowledging he had heard the small king. “What ails thou now, my littlest worm?”

“Well, y-you see...”

Lancer didn’t know why he felt a sudden rush of nervousness assault him, but it severely weakened his DEF and made him sound meek.

“I met...a strange jester recently, way below the castle...where no one else but him is locked up...”

The pen in his Lesser Dad’s hand stilled, the tall Darkner going completely stiff.

“...What hast thou uttered to me?”

Lancer began to sweat. “I-I mean, he’s a pretty funny guy, you know!? He played games with me and even prepared this super secret training...just for me!”

Rouxls still hadn’t moved an inch.

“And what be the name of suchest jester?”

“J-Jevil!” The spade kid announced quickly, looking up at his Lesser Dad with a small smile, his many rows of round teeth showing.

The abrupt bang that resounded as the man slammed his hands on the table startled Lancer so much he jumped in his seat. Rouxls Kaard stood to his full height, turning his gaze to finally look at the new king.

He looked livid.

“Thou shaltest not speaketh of that foulest Jester, young man!” Rouxls yelled, his eyes wide and hands clenched. Lancer ducked his head.

“B-but why…?” He questioned meekly, his voice low and hesitant.

“He is a disgrace and uttest dangerous failure of this Darketh World! I do not want you to converse with this foulst creature who speaks nothing but lies!” Rouxls then proceeded to point at the small injury Lancer got from his game with Jevil.

“And that! What doust thou call that? That is from him, correct? He hast harmed thou!”

Lancer immediately turned defensive. “We-we were only playing, Lesser Dad. It was all harmless fun...”

“Harmless?” Rouxls scoffed. “That Jester hast naught innocence in his blackened soul.”

“But he’s my friend!” Lancer continued.

Rouxls turned to leave. “And a friend no more!”

The Spade King watched his second dad leave, the now empty dining room as silent as it had been before he had brought Jevil up. Lancer turned from his half finished food and took a brief peek at what his Lesser Dad had been working on.

Among the many different words, a specific line read;

‘_Greatest Benevolent King, Lancer.’_

He didn’t feel like eating anymore.

* * *

“Hey, Jevil?” Lancer called. It was yet another day and yet another visit at Jevil’s prison, his mood slightly dampened due to the previous conversation he had with his Lesser Dad.

“Yes, yes, dear boy?” Jevil replied, his purple gloved hands clutching the bars as his glowing eyes stared intently at him.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Uee hee hee! You just did!” The jester laughed, and Lancer frowned. “But I’ll let you have another one, one, on the house!”

Lancer took a deep breath. “What exactly...did you do to get locked up?” Before Jevil could reply with the same thing he had said before, Lancer hurried on. “I mean, what did you _really_ do, back then? What were these games you wanted to play with everyone? Do you...” He hesitated. “Do you know Rouxls Kaard?”

There was a brief pause as the words seemed to sink into the jester’s mind. He then giggled, as per usual.

“Kaard? _Card?_ I know of many Kaards, but a Rouxls isn’t one of them. Uee hee hee, which suit are you speaking of? Hearts? Diamonds? Spades? Or even _Clubs_? Join the club!”

Lancer was starting to wonder how long Jevil had been in this, uh...what was the word again? Solace. No, solitary? Yeah, that seemed about right. How long had Jevil stayed in this solitary confinement? Lancer didn’t think it helped his friend’s sanity by staying here...if there was even any left of it.

“No...Rouxls _Kaard_, not card, silly!” He corrected, pointing at the cage where Jevil supposedly stood.

“I don’t know him.” Was the jester’s only reply.

“Okay...but you cannot fool me, LANCER, by evading my other questions, you sneaky clown!” The spade king declared, bouncing up to the cage.

There was yet again a brief pause. Then;

“I tell everyone, everyone who’s lucky enough to visit my freedom that this is but a game, game, but they do not listen. I tell you, my King, I am innocent. The Kings before you just couldn’t handle my games – they didn’t see things as I did – our world, where nothing matters and anything goes, the participants I played with, with, did not go over well with those boring Kings!” He shouted.

“So, so...” Jevil began again. “Even though those I played with lost all of their HP, I did no sin, sin. They just don’t see what they’ve ultimately done by playing chase with me, oh they’ve set me free!”

Lancer felt chills creep down his spine. He took a hesitant step back, gulping. Jevil didn’t actually mean that, did he? Had he..._killed_ before? Something like that was a thing even Lancer, the (former) ultimate bad guy, steered clear of.

That was the _worst_ of the worst, in his opinion...not to mention Jevil seemed to truly believe he had done no wrong. Maybe Lesser Dad really had been on to something with his warning.

Still, Jevil was his friend, and Lancer was, if everything else too, a _good_ friend.

“You really believe that, h-huh?” He laughed weakly, not sure what to do or even say anymore. “You, uh, probably need to get out of that cage soon, Buckaroo! I think it’s messing with your swell noggin!”

“Go out, out there?” Jevil questioned. “No, that would make me a prisoner, silly boy!”

Lancer threw his hands in the air. What was _with_ this dude?

“Fine, then stay here and do whatever it is clowns like you do in the dark!” He said, turning around. “I’m leaving, but be sure to spoil me with lots of games next time, alright!?”

Jevil reached out a hand, parts of his purple and black clothes peeking from the darkness.

“So soon, to be alone again? We haven’t even had our daily fun!”

Lancer stopped briefly, not looking back. “I’ll...” He began. “I’ll find a way to...to convince you this place sucks. And when I do, you can leave and we’ll play all the time, and you’ll be my fan number two and we can even ask the sweet fluffy boy to make us those monogrammed track-jackets he promised...yeah!” He stated, convincing himself of his spur of the moment plan.

“Boo hoo hoo, I’ll be waiting, waiting for my King to imprison me!” Jevil laughed.

Lancer didn’t stay to hear anything else the jester might have said, running up the stairs and leaving with the elevator. He thought it might be a good idea to visit his dad next.

* * *

As it turned out, visiting his father hadn’t been the best of his brilliant ideas. Lancer found his mood turn from slightly great to slightly less great as the day was spent, and the spade kid found himself dreading the most enjoyable part of his day; dinnertime.

“I sure hope Lesser Dad’s in a better mood today...” He mumbled to himself as he revved his bike and changed the gear to blast forward.

And even though his castle was fairly big, the ride to the dining area was over way before Lancer was ready for it to be. Once he had crashed through the entrance and slammed into some poor, unfortunate chair, the young spade king dismounted his trusted bike and looked around.

Sure enough, there his Lesser Dad stood, setting a new plate of freshly cooked worms on the unnecessarily long table...actually, Lancer realized it wasn’t worms, but the gummy-candy version. The nefarious spade kid smiled brightly, rushing over to the tall blue man and poking him to get his attention.

“Are we having candy for dinner!?” He shouted, way too excited to keep a level tone as a king probably should. “What’s the occasion, Lesser Dad who’s actually quite Great!?”

Rouxls startled briefly, his gaze turning downwards to look at Lancer with wide eyes. The spade king thought it was quite funny he hadn’t heard Lancer’s grand entrance, but...maybe he blew things up more often than he realized.

“Ah, thou Highestness. I-yes, I supposeth we’re having thy sweet worms today.” He sighed, and then went to scoop Lancer up in his arms. The young Darkner yelped at the unexpected action, having not seen that coming from a mile away, but somehow loving the attention all the while.

“I amst sorry for my behavior the otherest day. I was...out of lineth, to get that mad at thine innocent actions.”

Rouxls then placed Lancer down on the chair, setting him right before the delicious worms, now with sugar. Lancer was moved by his Lesser Dad’s words and actions, the apology hitting him right in the feels with a critical hit.

“Oh, that’s all water under the bridge now! You’re one hundred percent forgiven!” He laughed, his hands reaching out for the sweet bowl of gummy treats. Sadly, his hands were swatted away before he could claim his prize.

“This greateth Duke of now Royal Assistance is very glad to acceptest thine apology, but...” His Lesser Dad paused briefly to give him a stern look. “Hast thou still plans on visiting that..._Jester_?”

“Why of course!” Lancer replied, not hesitating for even a second.

“I would liketh to express my concern on that, my wormy little King. I still think you wouldst be better off forgetting that _heretic_.”

“Hey!” Lancer shouted, having heard enough. “My friend’s not a heretic! He’s...” The spade child thought for a few seconds. “He’s a very unstable clown!” He concluded.

Still, Lancer now had a better understanding of Rouxls’ wariness of Jevil. That dude was _extremely_ weird, even for his own taste. But a friend was a friend, and Lancer valued the jester’s company.

His Lesser Dad nodded. “I agreest that he’s many things, a clown amongest the growing list.”

He sighed again, sitting down beside Lancer and pushing the bowl of his wriggly dinner before him, most likely as a sign Lancer could go ahead and dig in. He wasted no time in doing so.

“Yummy!” Lancer sighed in bliss. “Yummy gummy!”

“I am pleaseth you liketh them.” Rouxls stated, not taking a single gummy worm for himself. Lancer was okay with that, though. It meant more for him.

“As mine King, I canst not do a thing against thine decicions, Lancer.” His Lesser dad continued, tapping his finger on the table. “But I implorest thou to be careful. Jevil is naught what he seemst.”

Lancer briefly stopped inhaling the worms.

“I’ll...keep that in mind, Lesser Dad.”

“That is all I amst asking.” Rouxls smiled, patting him on the head. Lancer preened and continued to eat.

“Now, what doest thou sayeth we listen to some of your...music tracks later on?” Rouxls questioned, looking like it physically hurt him to do so.

Lancer beamed, mouth full of sweetness and stars sparkling around him.

“Yes!”

This day had turned out not to be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, and thanks for reading this far! I hope you liked it.
> 
> I dedicate this repost to **Justapasserby**. Thank you for opening my eyes ;D


	2. I Promise

It was another beautiful day in the Dark World, and yet Lancer found himself once again spending it deep underground, where his only company was a Jester whose sanity was currently in question.

“So, are you ready to leave your freedom yet, my clowny friend?” The spade child asked, currently in the middle of paddling back and forth on his bike. He had brought it down the stairs with him this time, thinking he and Jevil could use it for some of their games. At the moment, though, the Jester was being unusually quiet.

“No.” Was his friend’s reply, and Lancer stuck his tongue out in frustration. He had kind of made a silent vow to himself, promising to get Jevil out of this lonely prison and back up to a world where it, while still dark, at least held a community of close-knit Darkners. Everything was better than this place, and Lancer was honestly getting tired of having to take that elevator up and down several times a day.

Oh what he didn’t do for his friends. Lancer hoped Jevil appreciated all of his hard work.

“But won’t you come here, here, outside with me?”

Lancer briefly stopped paddling. He turned his gaze to the complete darkness that was Jevil’s cage, and then shook his head.

“In there?” He scoffed. “No way, my reverse tan would be completely _ruined_ if I spent even one second in that creepy darkness.”

“But it’s not as dark as you think, my King.”

“I’m still not going in there.”

The Jester hummed. "Ah, that's too bad, bad. You're missing out on my Carousel Game!" He giggled.

Lancer stilled on his bike. "...Excuse me, your what?" Had he heard that right?

"My Carousel Game!" Jevil repeated. "Why, why dear boy, haven't you tried one of those before!?"

Oh. So he _had_ heard right. Lancer frowned, squinting his non-existent eyes at the cage before him. "...No." He said, but then shook his head, a new resolve burning bright within his squishy body. "But why didn't you mention that before!? Sign me up right this instant, clown!"

Lancer was going to ride the heck out of that carousel, his own safety be damned.

"Uee hee hee, the King has spoken, spoken, and with that this door shall be broken!"

Lancer startled as a door appeared seemingly out of thin air, sparkling briefly with magical residue as it was forced open with a bang. Inside, the small Darkner still couldn't see anything other than grueling darkness, waiting to swallow him whole.

Lancer gulped. Was this carousel really worth it?

...Darn it. It was. Lancer just couldn't help himself.

Dismounting his trusted bike and giving it a few affectionate pats, the spade child made his way over to the gaping hole, steering his resolve. Yes, Lancer felt a bit jittery with nerves (who wouldn't), but he refused to be intimidated by this prison. He'd had enough time to get used to it anyway, what with all of these visits.

Now it was finally time to meet his great new friend! ...and ride that carousel.

Reaching the inside of that mysterious cage was...quite anticlimactic, if Lancer was to be honest. His wild and awesome imagination had led him to believe it was some kind of otherworldly prison with a torture chamber, chains and crappy metal beds. Instead, what greeted his sight was yet more blue upon blue, the barren room cold and boring.

The sole occupant of this prison, however, was anything _but_ boring. With a huge, earsplitting grin that displayed rows upon rows of sharp yellow teeth, Jevil squinted his dark eyes in mirth as the two of them officially met for the first time. Lancer took note of how this Darkner's appearance was unlike any other he had seen throughout the Dark World, his almost demonic appearance contrasting widely with his jester garments. He was only slightly taller than Lancer, a few inches at most, and Lancer couldn't exactly brag about his own height (but whatever, he did it anyway).

Jevil's oddly-shaped tail flicked behind him, his purple gloved hands spreading out in a wide gesture, as if he stood before a cheering crown.

"So, so!?" He said, his voice sounding even louder now that Lancer was closer to him. "What do you say, Lancer Boy? Do I meet your great, GREAT expectations?"

Needless to say, whatever Lancer had expected, this certainly wasn't it.

"Oh yeah, you do!" He grinned, giving the strange Jester a thumbs up. "You look even weirder than I expected!"

"Boo hoo hoo, thank you!" Jevil laughed, and then started bouncing back and forth in place. "You're looking quite grand as well, my King, King! Oh how you've grown, it's almost unbelievable, ha ha!"

Lancer absorbed all the praise like a vacuum cleaner.

"But of course!" He said, looking around.

Much to his disappointment, though, Lancer couldn't spot any carousels anywhere, making the spade kid turn his gaze back to the grinning Jester, his own smirk turning into a frown.

In hindsight, walking into a dark prison with an unstable Jester who promised to show you his carousel probably hadn't been one of his smartest ideas.

"Hey, Jevil!" He said, pointing at his friend dramatically. "Where's your carousel!? You said you had one!"

Jevil stopped bouncing around. "Oh, right, right, how silly of me!" He laughed.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, the entire prison _changed_. Lancer watched on in amazement as the dull and boring place warped into that of a spinning...top? The spade kid didn't actually know how to describe it. He looked down at his own feet, briefly wondering how he wasn't being flung around by all of that spinning, but alas, he stayed put. The spinning top thingy was then immediately followed by several large horse and duck carousel rides, each one of them going round, round and round, circling the center of the room.

Jevil was cackling madly as he floated high above, landing on top of one of the horse-duck hybrids.

Lancer gaped. That...was so...

"COOL!!!" He shouted, bouncing up and down in place before joining Jevil on this merry go round carousel. One of the ducks lowered enough for him to mount it, and then the two of them proceeded to ride the heck out of them.

Jevil eventually decided that the carousel alone wasn't enough excitement, so he began doing several different acrobatics on the many rides, jumping back and forth, standing on one hand, on no hands - really, that dude was a cheat in every possible way. He occasionally flung some attacks this way and that, and Lancer even had to duck a few times to evade his crazy friend's hysteria.

Lancer himself was having a blast, laughing as he demanded his ride go faster, and it complied. Much to his absolute joy (and equal parts horror), the ride kept speeding up and didn't stop until he was a blur to anyone who might have looked.

When he finally got it to stop, Lancer stumbled back out of the prison, only to come right back in with his trusty bike, 'cause, you know, it definitely deserved to ride on this epic carousel as well.

Needless to say, Lancer felt all but sick once the two of them finally settled (or as much as Jevil could settle, he was still floating around, seeming no more tired than before).

"Ugh...hehehe! My stomach's doing back-flips!" Lancer laughed, plopping down on the still spinning ground. Jevil floated down to him, patting him on his head with a huge grin.

"What fun, fun! I hope you enjoyed the ride, ha ha!"

"Yeah, it was a blast!" Lancer agreed, leaning into the touch.

Jevil materialized another ice cream and handed it to a sparkly Lancer. Man, was his clowny friend _good_.

"Thanks, Pumpkin!" He said, and then proceeded to devour the icy treat.

He felt the swell healing properties of the ice cream kick in and tend to his injuries, which Lancer hadn't even noticed he'd gained. Huh. Jevil must have hit him anyway, despite his best efforts to evade his attacks.

Oh well, it wasn't like he couldn't take it; Lancer was a _tank_ when it came to taking hits, a fact he was very proud of!

"My little King, King, have you had enough for today? Or shall we play some more, to cure this from being a bore?"

Lancer thought for a moment. "Hmm, well, let's not play with the carousel anymore! How about something more simple, like that word game from the first time we met?"

Jevil clapped his hands. "Yes, yes! I've got just the thing!"

* * *

Later that evening, after Lancer had finally left Jevil to brood in his own solitude, the newest Spade King decided to pay a visit to his Sweet as Pie Prince, Ralsei.

Aside from getting lost a few times along the way, Lancer found the lone castle beyond the Great Door relatively quickly. He knocked on the front door, rocking back and forth on his heels as he waited for the Dark Prince to answer his every beck and call...err, to answer the door.

No sooner than he had expected did Ralsei appear, looking surprised to see him standing at his doorstep. Lancer gave him a huge, toothy grin and trudged into the house like he owned the place.

"Your awesome King, LANCER, has come to pay you a visit!" He declared, turning around to face the confused goat once again. "You should be honored, my dear subject!"

Ralsei gave a soft smile, a hand going up to scratch at his cheek. "Err, what a lovely surprise, Lancer." He said. "You're always welcome here."

"Oh, I know!"

As he looked around, taking in the dark, intricate design of the castle, Ralsei closed the door and followed Lancer as he went over to a rustic couch, planting himself in it. The Fluffy Boy stood awkwardly before him, fidgeting with the soft fabric of his scarf.

"So, what brings you here, Your Majesty?" He asked, taking a seat next to him. Lancer found he quite liked being addressed as his new title. "Do you want anything to drink? Or eat?"

"No need, my Delicious Little Treat. I'm here for some answers!"

"Umm...I see." Ralsei said, quirking an eyebrow. When Lancer didn't elaborate, the Prince continued. "...If I may ask, what kind of answers? I'd love to help you, but I need some kind of context first."

Lancer nodded. "Right! Clever as always, I see." He then cleared his throat. "I made a great new friend recently!"

Ralsei smiled. "That's great, Lancer."

"Uh-huh! And so you see, he told me you two have met before, even played games together. Ho ho, imagine my surprise when I heard that!" He turned to look up at Ralsei. "Is that true!?"

"Well..." The Fluffy Prince began, thinking. "We did meet a lot of different people on our journey, but...it really depends on who you're speaking of."

"Why, Jevil, of course!"

Ralsei's hands froze, his eyes widening. He then slowly placed them on his lab, looking down at Lancer with an expression that almost looked like...fear?

How strange.

"J-Jevil...?" His Sweet Boy muttered, voice quiet.

"Yes!" He nodded. "So you do know him!"

Ralsei looked away. "W-well, yes." He looked back at him again. "But, more importantly...How did you meet him? He's...not exactly in a place where people can usually find him."

"Oh, that's easy! I took the elevator." Lancer declared.

Ralsei sweat-dropped. "R-right. The elevator, of course."

There was a brief moment of silence where Lancer waited for the Prince to elaborate further, but instead, Ralsei only continued to ask his own questions.

"He...hasn't hurt you, has he, Lancer? He's kind of..."

"Completely bonkers? I know!" The spade kid agreed, not seeing any problem with that whatsoever. "And don't worry your fluffy little self over me, Jevil has only hurt me a couple of times, and that was all due to our fun games together!"

Ralsei looked horrified.

"L-Lancer, that's...! That's terrible!"

The spade kid waved him off. "What? It's no biggie! Susie hurt me too, but we're still great friends!!"

Ralsei seemed to struggle with something. "Y-yes, but...I mean..." He sighed, giving Lancer a sad smile. "I, er, I understand you're glad to have a new friend, Your Majesty, and...and that's great! But..." He gave him a pat on his head, smiling softly. "Jevil is kind of, um, unstable, so I worry about your safety..."

Lancer stuck out his tongue. "Aww, my Sweet Peas, you worry for nothing! I, LANCER, know my clowny friend won't hurt me beyond fun and games - he even said so himself!"

Ralsei raised an eyebrow. "He did...?" Then he shook his head, his expression turning stern. "But still, Lancer, as your friend too, I can't help but worry..."

"But why?" Lancer asked, not getting why this was such a big deal. He only wanted to ask if Ralsei had met Jevil or not. He certainly didn't expect to get mothered the second he did, though. His Fluffy Boy could be such a softie.

"I fought him before, Lancer. Together with Kris and Susie." Ralsei said. "I know what he's capable of, and, um...It-it's not good..."

"Oh! You mean his Numbers Game, right!?"

If Lancer thought Ralsei looked horrified before, then he looked just about ready to faint by now.

"H-he _didn't_...did he...?" The goat stuttered, eyes wide behind his round glasses.

Lancer scoffed, pouting. "No." He grumbled. "Jevil won't let me play that game with him. He says he doesn't wanna hurt me, but whatever!!! I can take it!"

The Fluffy Prince let out a deep breath, his hands fiddling with the edge of his green hat. "Oh..." He eventually said, sounding both surprised and bewildered in equal measures. "Jevil didn't force you to..." He paused briefly. "...I see. Um, well, perhaps he has a soft spot for kids...? Or is it just you in particular?"

Ralsei looked back down at him. "Maybe...maybe he can actually change for the better...? I mean, we didn't really, err, get a chance to try and help him back then..."

"Never mind that!" Lancer interrupted. "Tell me _all_ about this Numbers Game! What's it about? How do you play it? Did you win!?"

"I-I don't know if that's such a good idea, Your Majesty..."

The Spade King whined. "Oh c'mon, my Sweet Basket of Eggs! Don't be such a party pooper!"

Ralsei sighed, placing his hands back down on his lab. "...Okay." He conceded. "To put it simply, Jevil's Numbers Game is...a game where, um, if you lose all of your HP, then it's...Game Over for you."

Lancer was about to comment on this when he frowned, his smile falling. "ALL of your HP??" He questioned, not liking the sound of that. It kind of reminded him of what the Jester had told him earlier, about his reason for imprisonment. "But doesn't that mean you...die!?"

Ralsei nodded sadly. "Y-yeah."

"Oh..." For once, Lancer didn't know what to say. Still, a nagging question bubbled forth. "...Did you guys die?"

The Dark Prince winced, as if remembering something he'd rather not have thought about ever again. That kind of answered his question, but Ralsei confirmed it anyway.

"A-ah, well, the three of us _did_ die, but...thankfully not at the same time, so we were able to revive each other whenever Jevil hurt us enough to bring us down..."

Lancer felt something uncomfortable churn within him. "O-oh...that must have sucked!"

Ralsei gave a surprised laugh. "Well...you could say that."

The young Darkner was honestly surprised, even though he probably shouldn't have been, what with pretty much everyone around him warning Lancer not to approach the Jester. He hadn't actually believed his new friend was capable of murder, but hearing it from someone who had experienced it first-hand? Well, that certainly put a damper on his mood.

Still, Lancer wasn't about to give up on Jevil, no sir. He could be good too, of that he was sure. The weirdo just had to leave that pesky prison once and for all, and then Lancer could help him with whatever screws he had loose!

He nodded to himself, feeling very proud of his new master plan.

Turning his attention back to the Fluffy Boy, Lancer set about making his plan a reality.

"Hey, you said Jevil could change for the better, right!?" He questioned, just to make sure.

Ralsei looked startled, but answered quickly anyway. "Ah...umm, p-probably...?"

Nodding, Lancer flashed him a huge grin and thumbs up. "That's all the info I need, my dear subject! So, how do we do it??"

"...Do what?" Ralsei questioned, looking very much confused.

"Why, get that Clown out of his prison, of course! How do we do that when he won't leave himself!?"

"You, er, wish to free him...?"

"Heck yeah!" Lancer said, pointing at his friend. "And you're gonna bake us lots of delicious cakes when the three of us crash this place later on!!!"

"I-I will...?" Ralsei began, but then nodded. "Ah, right. I will!"

Lancer began fidgeting in his seat, his entire body brimming with energy.

"So??" He questioned once again.

Ralsei looked thoughtful for a moment, placing a paw on his chin. "If...If you're serious about this, then I'll do my best to help you. I, too, think Jevil can change for the better..."

The two of them sat in silence as they both thought. Eventually, His Sweet Fluff lit up with an idea.

"I-I think I've got it!" He said, looking excited. "Before Kris and Susie left for their own world, Kris handed me the Key to unlocking the door to Jevil's prison...I'm, umm, not really sure how much help it'll be, but I think you should take it, Lancer."

Ralsei then fished the Key out of his inventory, handing it over to the spade kid. Lancer glanced down at it with a frown.

"But...Jevil can open the door himself!" He said, because he had _seen_ the Jester do that.

The Dark Prince nodded. "That doesn't surprise me much, knowing him...but still, I have a feeling you, um, might need it some day."

"Hmm, well okay!!" Lancer pocketed the Key, looking back up at Ralsei. "But what about getting Jevil out???"

"W-well, I do have an idea, but...I think I'd like to confirm it with someone first.."

"Who!?" Lancer asked.

"His name is Seam...and he knows more about Jevil than anyone, I think..."

Lancer jumped back to his feet. "Then what are we sitting around here for, like a bunch of losers!? Let's go!!"

Ralsei chuckled, getting up as well.

"R-right!"

* * *

Seam's Seap looked quite fitting for its name.

Lancer bounced up to the stitched tent's entrance, placing his small hands on his hips while Ralsei followed behind him, gesturing at the shop.

"This is the place." He said, placing a hand on Lancer's head. "Seam is a nice Darkner, but he might seem a bit...scary at first."

The spade child huffed. "I'm not a baby, my Delicious Little Apple! But thanks for your genuine concern, ho ho ho!"

The two of them entered the gaping entrance.

The interior itself looked pretty cool with the various nicknacks and dimly lit lanterns, its light painting the entire tent in various shades of dark brown and yellow. It honestly gave off a strange vibe, like the two of them had somehow found themselves entering a dark, sombre world.

What stood out the most, however, was neither object nor light. Behind the counter he and Ralsei approached, a tall Darkner stood ready to greet them, his stitched smile crooked and overall sinister looking.

"Hee hee..." The Darkner laughed, his odd buttoned eye swirling as his cat ears twitched. "Welcome, you two."

"It's so very good to see you again, Seam!" Ralsei greeted in return, giving the stuffed cat a smile.

"Ha ha ...Likewise, Hero." He said, his smile widening to the point where Lancer thought the two stitches on it would snap. "What brings you here today? Need some of my old junk...?"

"No, we--"

Lancer interrupted Ralsei, pointing at the tall cat. "Hey, you! Do you know anything about my clowny friend!?"

The shop owner stilled, an oppressive silence rolling over them. Seam craned his neck down to look at the little spade kid, the hollow eye that lacked a button gazing at him with an intensity that made Lancer want to leave.

"...And you must be the Spade King's son." The cat eventually said, breaking the silence.

Ralsei spoke up again, his hand finding its place upon Lancer's hooded head. "Y-yes, this is Lancer, the newly appointed Spade King. He, umm, he overthrew his father not that long ago..."

Seam stared at him for a long time. "...I see." He eventually said, nodding. "And you ask if I know of your...clowny friend...?" He frowned, but then his eyes widened, as if he had realized something. "Ha ha ha, you ...are you perhaps speaking of Jevil?"

Lancer felt a surge of excitement course through his body. "Yes, that's him! You're quite the clever little cat, huh!?"

Seam laughed. "That guy just can't stay out of trouble, can he?" He muttered, shaking his head. "...It's almost as if _chaos_ is meant to follow wherever he goes."

Okay...Lancer wasn't really following this conversation anymore. What was it with adults and evading the subject? No one ever got straight to the point, unlike his great self.

Seam then turned serious, as if a switch had been pressed. "...So, what about Jevil?"

Lancer beamed. "Now that's more like it!" He said. "Me and my Fluffy Boy here plans on freeing my new friend from that stupid prison, whether he likes it or not!"

Ralsei nodded, looking around nervously. "Y-yes. I brought Lancer here because I remembered you knew Jevil back in the days, and...well, the two of us are at a loss for what to do...We still have the Key to his prison cell, but...umm, that won't really do much when Jevil himself doesn't want to leave..."

"Exactly! He's being such a silly little clown, refusing to listen whenever I tell him that his prison sucks!"

Seam frowned. "...That guy isn't meant to leave his confinement, ever. This world is not ready to witness the chaos he brought once upon a time..."

"Whatever!!" Lancer scoffed. "I'm getting him out anyway!"

"Ah...I'm sorry about Lancer, Seam...He means well." The Dark Prince spoke, looking as apologetic as he sounded.

Instead of getting angry, Seam only sighed in response, giving a small chuckle. "Perhaps it is for the best...I certainly wouldn't mind seeing him just once, despite everything." He smiled, leaning forward on the counter. "Just heed my words; you will not like the outcome, whatever that will be...not with how his mindset currently is."

Seam then blinked. "...Ha ha. That's partly my fault, isn't it?"

Lancer frowned. _'For crying out loud,'_ he thought. _'I just want answers! Is that really too much to ask!?'_

"Mister, do I have to thrash you to get an answer??" He questioned in all honesty.

"An impatient King, I see." The cat chuckled. "Alright, I'll give you what you want."

Seam leaned even further towards them, as if about to share a huge secret. "...Jevil will not, under any circumstances, allow anyone to tell him he can't do something. I assume the both of you have already heard his catchphrase of 'I can do anything', correct?"

They both nodded, and he continued. "Hee hee, then there you have it. Use this knowledge to challenge him, and he will surely prove he can do what you want him to." Seam smiled. "It doesn't really matter how you go about this...as long as you bring up a challenge, he'll bite...or, I suppose you could also make Jevil leave of his own free will, if you play your cards right. Ha ha ha..."

"Ho ho ho!" Lancer laughed along despite not getting what was fun about this. "Thanks, Seam, your advice definitely fits that of a King such as myself! I can't believe we thought of the same thing!!"

Never mind the fact that Lancer hadn't actually thought about that..._at all_.

Ralsei bowed to show his own appreciation. "Yes, thank you very much, Mister Seam! I'm...hehe, I'm a little embarrassed I didn't think of that myself, seeing as I, er, I fought him not that long ago..."

Seam chuckled. "It takes one crazy mind to understand another's."

Ralsei sweat-dropped. "Yes...Well, we'll take our leave now. It was great to see you again!"

"Yeah, it was great to see you again for the first time!" Lancer chirped in.

Seam nodded to them. "See you again...or not. Ha ha ha..."

Once they had left the dark tent and returned to an equally dark world outside, Ralsei turned to Lancer.

"I...would very much love to help you with convincing Jevil to leave his prison, but..." He glanced at the direction of his own castle. "I have some business to take care of, and...umm, I think I'd like to check if Kris and Susie might have returned..."

Lancer waved him off. "Don't sweat it, Pumpkin! I've got this covered." He stated, his grin growing wider. "There's no way Jevil won't leave after he's exposed to what I have in store for him! He won't know what hit him, even if what hit him turned out to be me on my bike of fueled victory!!"

His Fluffy Boy smiled. "I'm sure you'll do great, Lancer."

"Of course! You just focus your sweet little head on bringing the others back, alright!?"

Ralsei nodded, and they parted ways.

* * *

"Uee hee hee, think FAST!"

"Whoa!"

Lancer threw himself to the side as one of Jevil's Devilsknife sauntered towards him with a speed rivaled only by his wheels with the bike attached to them. The knife managed to graze his right arm before he crashed to the spinning ground of Jevil's strange prison, a small groan leaving his mouth as his HP dropped by a few decimals.

"Uff..." He breathed, forcing his arms to carry most of his weight as he looked up at the Jester. "You...what the heck!?"

"It's practice, practice!" Jevil laughed. "...Or is it? Who cares!?"

Lancer glared. "Well, I'M not here to practice today, you (swear word I'm not allowed to say)!" He shouted, jumping to his feet. "No, my handsome visage demands we play today, Jevil!"

The Jester floated down, his gloved hand shooting forward with lightning speed. Lancer flinched for only a moment, before he eventually felt his head being patted. He leaned into the touch, liking the affectionate pats he was being given vastly better than getting hurt.

"Of course, my King. We'll play, PLAY, just as you say!"

Lancer grinned, inwardly laughing as his recently-formed plan began unfolding. Things were already going smoothly (losing HP not included).

"Great!" He cheered, forcing his body language to reveal nothing of the pure anticipation brimming within him. "So here's the deal, Punkaroo! We'll play two games today, and I get to pick the second one!! And you, choose wisely, 'cause if it's boring I'll leave to do cooler stuff, like crashing my bike into everyone I meet!"

"Is that a challenge?" Jevil questioned, tilting his head to the side, before an earsplitting grin spread across his pale face. "Uee hee, chaos chaos! Then let's play 'I Spy'!!!"

Lancer was about to compliment his friend on his choice of game (it didn't really matter what Jevil would have chosen, he wasn't actually going to leave), but felt his grin tilt downward, his spaded face scrunching up in confusion. He glanced around them in the empty cell. Glance right. Glance Left.

There was absolutely nothing here.

Lancer voiced his thoughts. "Can we even play that in this prison?? It's as empty as my castle on the new and not yet announced annual Salsa Day hosted in the Forest Area!!!"

Jevil giggled, his J-shaped tail flicking as he floated up again. "I'll start, start!" He exclaimed, completely ignoring Lancer's question. He huffed, crossing his arms as the Jester thought for a moment.

"I spy, spy, with these eyes...something PINK, he HA!" He said, clapping his hands together before placing them behind his head to slouch in the air, waiting for Lancer to find what only he could see.

Lancer grinned. "H-huh! There's something pink in here!? How did I not see that before??"

Turning around, Lancer began inspecting the dull prison once again, only to stop short when something..._huge_ cast a shadow over him.

Lancer craned his neck. Well, it certainly _was_ pink, but...

"Why is there a PINK ELEPHANT in here, Jevil!? Is it your pet? How did you hide it until now!?"

The elephant in question gave a low trumpet sound with its trunk, looking very much confused as to how it got here.

"You found it, hee hee hee!!" The Jester cheered, and then snapped his fingers.

Just as fast as the large animal had appeared, so too did it vanish with Jevil's motion, leaving Lancer to gape at where it had stood only moments earlier.

"Your turn, dear boy!" Jevil announced, breaking whatever trance the spade kid had entered. Shaking his head, Lancer felt a fire burn within him. This time he wasn't going to be bested by his crazy friend, _no way_.

"Hmm, I spy with my perfect eyes...um, huh..." Lancer looked around. "Something...Gold!!"

"The bells, bells on my jester hat!" Jevil immediately said, flicking one of them to make it jangle.

Lancer laughed, sticking out his blue tongue. "I guess that was too easy for you, huh!? Be grateful I'm going easy on you!" He said, actually having fun despite his slight irritation at the unfairness Jevil so loved to abuse.

"I spy, spy...something white!" Jevil grinned, his smile turning sinister.

Lancer only had one second to react as a diamond bullet was flung towards him, grazing his left leg as it crashed into the ground near him. He let out a hiss of breath, frowning.

"Hey, you CLOWN, I said no training today!!" He yelled, pointing at the bullet. "But yeah, I found the white thing!" He stated proudly, despite everything.

Jevil started laughing again, his face contorted with immense pleasure.

_'Is it just me, or is Jevil becoming more violent...?'_ Lancer though, a slight shiver running down his spine. It was gonna be okay, though, because his new friend had promised not to hurt him - not _truly_. Lancer liked to believe in all of his awesome friends, Jevil included.

The two of them continued to play I Spy for a little while longer, the Jester pulling out random crap whenever he felt like it, and Lancer had to milk all of his limited options before eventually running out of things to _spy_.

It was finally time to put his plan into motion. Plopping down on the ground, Lancer pointed at Jevil and used his most authoritative voice (he was totally nailing this king shtick).

"Now it's time for MY game!" He exclaimed with a grin. "Are you ready!?"

Jevil floated down to take a seat in front of Lancer, nodding vigorously. "Oh yes! Do your strongest!"

"Brace for it...!" He said, his voice sprinkled with drama. "We're gonna play...Truth or Dare!!!"

It was the perfect game for his plan. And while this certainly was a moment of truth, Lancer planned on using this game to dare Jevil. Personally, the young Darkner thought this was genius. What better way to lure his friend out of his confinement than a challenge such as this? Not only would Jevil have to do whatever he dared him to, Lancer would also jab at his ability to 'do anything', as his clowny friend so lovingly reminded him of each time they met.

Lancer felt goosebumps form on his skin from his own sheer brilliance.

"Ha, ha." Jevil smiled, his piercing eyes crinkling with mirth. "You're quite the _daredevil_, aren't you, sweet, sweet child? But lo behold, I'll take your challenge, hahaha!!!"

Lancer felt relief bubble up. "Of course, you're talking to a former bad guy, ya know!? I'm full of sweet surprises, ho ho ho!"

"Yes, yes, let the fun begin! Let the GAME begin!"

The game itself wasn't actually as exciting as their heated conversation, but it nonetheless started out with Lancer asking Jevil whether he'd go with truth or dare. He crossed his fingers, quenching the urge to fidget.

"The Truth goes first, my King, Uee hee hee!"

Ah. Oh well, they had just begun.

Lancer racked his brain for a question he'd like to ask. Then he racked the rest of his body just to make sure no questions escaped him.

"Hmm...Oh, I got it!!" He exclaimed. "Did you really kill someone before? No way, right?!"

Jevil's smile did not waver as he answered, and neither did his gaze still firmly fixed on him.

"Oh, but I did." He said. "That is but a possibility when we play in this spinning, spinning game! It won't end, so why, oh why would someone's demise make me cry? Boo hoo hoo, how sad!! Ha ha ha!"

_'...Right. I've got an insane Jester friend.'_ Lancer thought.

"O-okay!" He laughed awkwardly, trying hard not to think about the fact that he was sitting right next to a real criminal...a _killer_, no less. "Now it's your turn!"

It went on like this for a while, with Lancer always picking dare because he hoped it would inspire Jevil to do the same, but...for some reason, his Jester friend kept choosing truth, a fact that annoyed him to no end as that shit-eating grin Jevil wore kept growing.

At least Lancer learned quite a few things about his clowny friend (he'd been imprisoned for _decades_), not to mention getting a lot of exercise out of all those dares he so bravely took on (and no, he could _not_ ride his bike on the ceiling, and he certainly couldn't eat one of Jevil's _Devilsknife_ either).

Then it got to a point where it was Jevil's turn to choose again.

"Truth or Dare, you CLOWN?!"

"Truth, truth!"

Lancer sighed for the billionth time. "Who made you this way??" He asked.

Jevil stared at him, unblinking.

"...Pardon?" He said, his voice low.

Lancer shrugged. "Well, I mean, someone _must_ have made you this way, right?! I kinda figured you haven't always been crazy, because that would just be weird! So, who did this to you? Do I have to step into my bad guy role and thrash them??"

Lancer smiled, feeling proud of such a well thought out question. He would rock at being a detective. He looked up at his friend expectantly, waiting for his answer. Instead, Lancer was met with an expression that downright frightened him.

Jevil sat completely still, as if a part of him had been glued the floor, his dark eyes wider than Lancer had ever seen them. He said nothing, the unusual silence that followed his question making the energy around them feel heavy and oppressive. In contrast to the rest of his friend's body language, Jevil's huge smile had only widened, his grin now downright manic.

Lancer shivered. He found that he didn't much like Jevil when he was this eerily quiet, and he'd much rather have his friend spew his usual crazy nonsense again.

Sweat began to coat the Jester's face. The silence did not break.

Lancer chuckled awkwardly, though it was mostly just to hear his own voice. "U-uh, you don't HAVE to answer that one, Buckaroo! H-how about we change this to a dare instead? You haven't tried that yet!"

By the Lightners, Lancer hoped Jevil would take this bait he so graciously laid before him. It would benefit them both at this point.

"...Sure, sure." Jevil said, still eerily calm. Lancer kind of wanted to go home now. He could try this another day, right?

He shook his head.

_'No. I'm not backing out of this! My fear might be a huge inconvenience, but since when has that ever stopped me, Lancer?!'_ He thought, his motivation skyrocketing.

"Okay, you asked for it, CLOWN!! I dare you to...Leave this prison, ah ha ha ha!!"

Jevil perked up immediately, laughing along with Lancer's improved evil laugh.

"I can do anything!!"

And so Jevil vanished in an instant, a slight after-image the only indication he'd sat before him just mere seconds ago. It dissolved, and Lancer was left alone in the dark prison. He blinked, looking around.

"...Did...did that work?" He questioned, his toothy grin widening. "I mean, of course it did!! There's no way my great plan could fail, ho ho ho!"

He stood back up, wasting no time in running out of the cell. The outside proved to be just as barren as the prison had been, with no Jester in sight.

"Huh..." Lancer said, briefly glancing at his bike near the stairs. "I wonder where that sneaky dude went!"

At least he wasn't imprisoned anymore. "Ha! Jevil better spoil me rotten after this, as thanks for my excellent help!"

Lancer fetched his bike and turned his direction back home. He planned on looking for his friend tomorrow, his excitement to see how Jevil was taking his new found freedom burning bright within him.

* * *

As much as he was known for getting lost, Lancer simply couldn't find Jevil anywhere, no matter how many strange places he visited due to his own misdirection. He spent almost half a day looking for the Jester, before Lancer eventually decided to give up for the time being, trudging back home.

On his way, however, someone else turned up.

"Lancer!" His Sweet and Fluffy Boy said, running up to him. Lancer stopped on his bike to look up at Ralsei, before his gaze eventually found the two figures following behind him. His smile widened.

"Well, well, well!" Lancer cheered. "Look who's back in town! The Lancer Fan Club!!"

Kris and Susie met up with them, and Lancer proceeded to tackle his purple friend with a fierce hug. She patted him on the head, her gaze turning soft for only a fraction of a second before she schooled it with her usual nonchalant tough-girl act.

"I missed you losers!!" He sighed. Susie set him back down and turned away from him.

"Yeah, well...I guess we missed you too." She said, sounding embarrassed. "Kris wouldn't shut up about you guys, so I had no choice but to follow them."

"Oh ho? So you didn't come to visit me?" Lancer jeered, loving this wonderful reunion.

Susie blushed. "Uh...sure, dude. I came to see you too."

Ralsei clapped his hands together, smiling brightly. "Isn't this great, guys? We're all back together, which means we can finally move on to fulfill the prophecy!" He cheered. "I'm sure it'll be lots of fun!"

"Eh." Susie grumbled.

Kris stayed silent, as always, and nodded their head once in a while as the four of them chatted along. Lancer glanced at the blue Lightner from time to time, a strange feeling bubbling forth as the quiet human smiled. For some reason, they looked a bit...different from when he had last seen them, but not in a bad way. It was kind of hard to describe.

"So, you guys ready to roll?!" Lancer eventually asked.

The three of them turned to look at him.

"Oh...umm, you're coming with us, Lancer?" Ralsei questioned.

"Yeah!! What, did you guys think I'd miss out on all the fun? No way!"

Susie nodded, looking quite happy despite the frown she wore. "Heh, don't bother trying to stop him, Ralsei. He'll follow us no matter what."

"Right..." His Fluffy Boy said, turning to look at Kris. "Are you okay with this, Kris?"

The blue Lightner nodded, giving Lancer a thumbs up.

"Ha ha ha, as if that was a choice anyway!! I could have just crawled up on Susie's back and gone along with you that way!"

"What, like a baby koala?" The purple monster said, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yeah!!"

Lancer then remembered something.

"Wait, wait!" He shouted. "I forgot I have something to do before we embark on our adventure! Can you three _clowns_ wait for me while I take care of this super important and totally secret thing?!"

Because speaking of clowns...he still had one to hunt down.

"Sure." Susie shrugged, turning back around to where they came from. "Me and Kris can eat some of the cake Ralsei baked earlier. Right, Kris?"

The blue Lightner nodded, turning around to follow. Ralsei sweat-dropped, giving Lancer an apologetic look.

"Er...We'll wait for you at my castle." He said. "Take care of yourself, and...tell me how your plan with Jevil went later, okay?"

"Sure thing!"

* * *

After yet another few fruitless hours of searching, Lancer had the brilliant (but late) idea of checking Jevil's prison, just to make sure his unstable friend hadn't found his way back there again. Because, well, that would be a total bummer.

The long ride down to the Basement felt nerve wracking, and Lancer couldn't help but tap his foot impatiently as the elevator made its way down.

"He better not be here..." Lancer pouted.

The place was as dark and gloomy as always, but now that he knew he wouldn't get to see this place for a while, it also came with a sense of...disappointment? Melancholy? Lancer wasn't sure.

He ran down the many stairs, leaving his bike behind this time. He stopped just before the rows upon rows of metal bars, and called out.

"Jevil?" Lancer said, his voice echoing around the huge dungeon.

There was a tense pause as only silence answered his question. Lancer was about to sigh in relief, but he immediately found himself choking on it as a _very_ familiar laugh rang throughout the hollow basement.

"Uee hee, you're back, back!" Jevil chuckled, his gloved hands once again appearing from the darkness of his cage. "Welcome, I say. Are you here to play?"

Lancer felt like a heavy stone had just been dropped on him.

"Wh-why are you still here, Jevil?!" He shouted. "I dared you to _leave_ this place, remember??"

"Yes, and I certainly did, ha ha! It was quite fun, fun, to see your imprisoned world again, but I eventually came to long for my own freedom, freedom!"

Lancer smacked his spaded face. "Of course..." He shook his head. He didn't have time for this, not anymore. "Listen, you weirdo! Kris and Susie came back, so I have to help them save the world and such. I can't stay here, and I probably won't have time to visit you either..."

His smile fell. Despite everything, Lancer still liked Jevil and the many games they had played. He hadn't had as much fun since he first met the Lightners, so he was going to miss this...whatever it was the two of them had together.

"Oh?" The Jester said, sounding intrigued. "So lonely, lonely I once again be, boo hoo hoo!" He cried, but then laughed immediately afterwards. "Say hi to them for me, me, and tell them to come back again sometime. I'm always up for fun, such fun!"

Lancer stared at the darkness for a few seconds before forcing his smile back on. He walked up to the cage, placing one of his hands on the Jester's.

He had made up his mind. His first attempt at getting Jevil out might have been a total bust, but he wasn't about to let that stop him from giving it another shot.

"Hey, let me in for a second!" He demanded.

Complying with his order, Jevil retracted his hands and formed the magical door that led to his so-called freedom, letting the Spade King enter. Lancer took note of his clowny friend's position (on the ground this time), and pointed at him.

"Honestly Jevil, you're a real _weirdo_." He began, sticking out his tongue. "And you're _dangerous_ too, but..." He paused, smiling gently at the Jester. "But you're still my friend, and I promise I'll get you out, no matter what!"

And without a second thought, Lancer ran up to Jevil and closed his arms around the Darkner, embracing him to show his maximum capacity of friendship power. Jevil stood completely still, as if frozen to the spot, his gloved hands hanging limply by his sides.

Lancer just held on all the more. He wasn't gonna give up on one of his only friends, no way. Just because Jevil was a danger to everyone around him didn't mean he couldn't change for the better. After all, if no one gave him a chance to heal from whatever ailed him, then how was he supposed to prove he could?

Lancer would be the one to grant him that chance.

Eventually, Jevil's own hands rose awkwardly and, gently, wrapped around the small spade kid in return. The two of them stood there for what felt like an eternity, before Jevil eventually unlatched himself from Lancer, taking several steps back.

The expression he was making was...quite sad, Lancer realized. It made him all the more determined to help this little guy.

"So yeah, just you wait!" He continued once the silence became too much. "Once me and the Lightners save the world from total destruction and all of that fun stuff, I'll come right back and free you from your "freedom"!" Lancer declared.

Jevil blinked, his eye lights gone.

"I promise!" He concluded. "You won't be alone for much longer, not if I can help it!"

The Jester smiled, but it didn't look quite right. That was okay, though; Lancer knew this would be a long process.

"So wait for me, okay? You better!"

Jevil laughed, sudden and abrupt. It jarred Lancer's nerves, but he was used to it by now. This was fine, it was all going to work out.

"Uee hee hee!!" The Jester cheered. "I'll wait for you, my little Spade King. I'll wait, and wait, and wait, for however long! Imprison me, free me, do whatever, whatever! In the end, this is all but a _game_."

Lancer sighed, but didn't drop his smile. It was time to go, he knew that, but the small Darkner wondered how long this new journey would take...he didn't want to leave Jevil here for much longer, but there wasn't really much he could do. Not yet.

Still, Lancer had formed yet another plan, a magnificent one at that. Once this was all over, he would put it to action, and his clowny friend would (hopefully) go free for real this time.

"Well, Buckaroo, I gotta book it!" He announced, turning around. "Don't miss me too much while I'm gone, alright!?"

Jevil's voice rang from behind him. "Don't worry your sweet, sweet little head, Lancer. I'll wait, wait. After all, I can do anything!"

As Lancer left, he heard the Jester's parting words.

"...And to you, I Jest."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, the final chapter of **To Jest**!
> 
> Thanks for reading this story, I hope you liked it! And, if you did, why not check out the Sequel, **Your World's a Fantasy**?
> 
> In any case, have a lovely day!


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